Frightened to open, went ahead (8)
I believe the answer is:
startled
'frightened' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'open went ahead' is the wordplay.
'open' becomes 'start' (I've seen this before).
'went ahead' becomes 'led' (led the way).
'start'+'led'='STARTLED'
'to' is the link.
(Other definitions for startled that I've seen before include "Taken by surprise" , "Suddenly alarmed" , "Shocked, alarmed" , "Taken aback" , "Caused sudden alarm" .)