History Main / FalseStart

* In "Fanfic/TheShoeboxProject" part sixteen, Sirius, overdramaztizing that he and Remus are going to die, says he has a confession. [[spoiler:He ends up confessing to getting chocolate on Remus' favorite sweater.]]

Compare to WillTheyOrWontThey and RedundantRomanceAttempt. See also RedHerringTwist and CanNotSpitItOut.

* One episode of ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima'' features this one in regards to Nodoka's feelings for Negi. [[spoiler:She still manages to tell him by the end of the episode.]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* Danny and Lindsay on Series/{{CSINY}};their romance was interrupted at first by Lindsay's trouble dealing with her turbulent past.

Compare to WillTheyOrWontThey See also RedHerringTwist and CanNotSpitItOut.

** And then there was the [[spoiler:BigDamnKiss during the mid-season 5 finale, while ''Juliet has a boyfriend''.]]

[[folder: Anime & Manga]]

** The most devastating of which was, after they got engaged and are finally about to have sex, [[spoiler: Il Palazzo appears and restores Hyatt's memory, and she leaves Watanabe]]. This ends up driving Watanabe insane.

* Pretty much what happened constantly in the second arc of ''Manga/CardcaptorSakura'' with [[spoiler: Syaoran trying to confess his love for Sakura.]]

* In ''Manga/HayateTheCombatButler'', Hinagiku asks Hayate how he feels for Athena. While he's struggling to try and figure out his feelings, she decides to try confessing, which he interrupts with the answer to the question, causing her for forget what she was about to say[[spoiler: , and then sends him off to his own attempted confession]].

[[folder: Comic Books]]

[[folder: Fan Works]]

* In "Fanfic/TheShoeboxProject" part sixteen, Sirius, overdramaztizing that he and Remus are going to die, says he has a confession. [[spoiler: He ends up confessing to getting chocolate on Remus' favorite sweater.]]

[[folder: Film -- Live Action]]

[[folder: Live Action TV]]

* Happens a lot between Sam Tyler and Annie Cartwright in ''Series/{{Life On Mars|2006}}''; [[spoiler: they finally get it together in the finale.]]

[[folder: Web Comics]]

[[folder: Western Animation]]

* On ''WesternAnimation/SuperRobotMonkeyTeamHyperforceGo'', this happened several times regarding Sprx trying to confess his feelings for Nova -- either [[MomentKiller something would interrupt]], or [[CantSpitItOut he'd chicken out]] at the last moment. [[spoiler: In the end, ''she's'' the one who confesses first, [[ThePowerOfLove which is enough to free him]] from his BrainwashedAndCrazy state in the final episode.]]

* Gwen and Evan share a [[spoiler:catastrophic first date]] in: ComicBook/TwelveReasonsWhyILoveHer.

Compare to WillTheyOrWontThey. See also RedHerringTwist and CanNotSpitItOut.

* A random schoolboy in ''RozenMaiden'' is constantly interrupted by the cast from confessing to Jun's sister Nori.

* In ''DNAngel'' this happens to Daisuke when he tries to confess his love for Risa in the first anime episode. (In the manga he managed to tell her, but she flat-out rejected him.)
* In ''{{VanDread}}'', a nervous Hibiki gets out an "I like y--"/'omae ga su---' to Dita, before the attack alert sirens go off.

Name comes from the American football term when an offensive lineman moves before the ball is in motion.

Name comes from the American football term when one player on the team moves before the ball is in motion.

* Danny and Lindsay on {{CSI NY}};their romance was interrupted at first by Lindsay's trouble dealing with her turbulent past.

* See early ''{{Friends}}'' and Ross' unrequited love for Rachel.

* ''{{Frasier}}'' pushed this trope about as far as possible with Niles. For several seasons, Niles struggles between lusting after Daphne and keeping his composure as she remains seemingly oblivious. The sheer number and intensity of the false starts is staggering, including several completely legitimate proclamations of love that are mistaken for something else. Most viewers agree that these were done well enough and kept far enough apart for the whole thing to work very well.

* YuppieCouple Menko ("Miss Noodle") and Shiruo ("Mr. Soup") in ''UruseiYatsura'' are eternally on the verge of declaring their love for each other when the current episode's lunacy literally runs them over.

* This happens to Momoka on ''KeroroGunsou'' all the time.

* In ''ShakuganNoShana'' (at least in the second season), any movement towards resolving the LoveTriangle is rudely interrupted by the sudden arrival of the next overpowering BigBad.

* One episode of ''MahouSenseiNegima'' features this one in regards to Nodoka's feelings for Negi. [[spoiler:She still manages to tell him by the end of the episode.]]

* Happens to Kosuda a few times in ''BGataHKei'', including having getting his head caught in the door of a departing train while trying to confess his feelings to protagonist Yamada.

* A variation appears on ''GossipGirl''. Chuck and Blair are both well aware that the other one loves them, but both refuse to date the other until s/he says those words out loud. Eventually Blair decides to say those words to Chuck but right before she meets up with him Dan tells her she's crazy if she thinks anything good can come out of saying those words to Chuck Bass. So she ends up chickening out, Chuck gets really mad and by the end of the episode they both agree that while the feelings between them are real they shouldn't be together at present.
* Happens quite a few times in ''{{Psych}}'' between Shawn and Juliet. In one season finale, the almost kiss becomes "close talking" as they have a full conversation with their lips a few centimeters apart. Then there was the time when Juliet went to ask him out but he was on a date with another girl. In another episode, Shawn goes off on a tangent about cereal boxes and toys until Lassiter comes in.

* Used so much in ''CodenameKidsNextDoor'' for Numbuh Four's crush on Numbuh Three that even most [[{{shipping}} shippers]] got tired of it.

* ''CodeLyoko'' actually has an episode with this title. Jérémie has finally brought his beloved Aelita into the real world...only to find out she has to return back to her virtual one, for the moment at least.

* Turned UpToEleven in [[SamAndFuzzy Sam Logan]]'s [[http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=155 guest strip]] for ''QuestionableContent''.

Compare to WillTheyOrWontThey. See also RedHerringTwist.

* Happens to Miroku and Sango several times in ''InuYasha'', mostly because ''both'' of them are inveterate {{Moment Killer}}s.

* The anime ''ToLoveRu'' does this a lot. in the first episode alone the main character tries to confess to his love interest and is stopped in order by a soccer ball to the head, a flower pot to the head, [[OverlyLongGag a garbage truck, a herd of rampaging elephants, and finally a crashing alien spaceship]].

* Ushio of ''{{Yu-Gi-Oh 5Ds}}'' is smitten with his lovely co-worker Mikage, but the moment he chose to make his feelings known to her unfortunately turned out to be the moment when she was having a rather intense conversation with Jack Atlas, which made it clear that she was in love with him. Either because Ushio knows that he can't compete with the younger, more glamorous, and better-looking Jack, or because he [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy just wants her to be happy]], he drops the attempt and apparently never works up the courage to try again.

* Happens to Chase a few times in "Zoey 101": he first tries to tell Zoey on a date (in which she shows up with her roommates, thinking it was just a friendly hangout), then he tries to tell her by sending her a text message only to have Zoey's phone get left by a fountain and fall in.

* This happens a lot on ''House of Anubis'' where everything from important information to kisses are interrupted on almost a daily basis, and the characters are forced to try again later, often to the same result.

* ''DannyPhantom'' had Danny trying to ask his crush [[RichBitch Paulina]] out to the dance, but [[JerkJock Dash]] interrupts him by violently shoving him into a locker. He succeeds afterward through a [[ClothesMakeTheManiac magical pendent]] (though he didn't know it was magical at the time).