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Secret Love Affair

Imagine being in love with someone, but not being able to show it. Now, on top of that, imagine being a part of the biggest boyband of the decade. That is, possibly, what bandmembers Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson dealt with since 2010. All throughout the 5 years of One Direction, there have been numerous songs written by Harry or Louis that made fans speculate that there was a romance between the two boys. Songs such as "Something Great", "Strong", "18", "Home", and "Perfect" (written by both Harry and Louis, references going on "secret rendezvous") are just a few examples of songs that fans have been analyzing for years about who they were written about. When One Direction broke up and the boys continued with solo careers, even more songs were written that provided further evidence of their possible relationship. "Two Ghosts" by Harry Styles and "Too young" by Louis Tomlinson are two pieces of evidence of their secret relationship, as they both repeat common themes and allusions, aiming for an emotional appeal.

"Two Ghosts", written by Harry Styles around 2014 and released in 2017, is an emotional song written about a love that has since ended. This song stirred up a lot of debate on who the subject of his lyrics is. The media speculated that it was about his ex-girlfriend, Taylor Swift, whom he dated in 2012. However, fans believe this song is about Louis Tomlinson. The opening lyrics are "Same lips red, same eyes blue/Same white shirt, couple more tattoos". Many people believed that describing red lips and blue eyes immediately meant it was about Taylor Swift, as she always wore her staple red lip stick, and she has blue eyes, but Louis Tomlinson also has blue eyes. The next line, "Same white shirt, couple more tattoos" is a clear indicator that this is could be about Louis Tomlinson. Harry and Louis have many tattoos that seem very complimentary such as a ship on Louis and a compass on Harry, a rose and a dagger, a rope and an anchor, a heart and an arrow, and birds and an empty bird cage. Harry doesn't seem to have any tattoos that can be connected to Taylor, arguing that his new tattoos were for Taylor wouldn't make sense. This line creates a narrative that this relationship was so impactful and meaningful that he got permanent reminders of that person tattooed on his body. The next line, "But it's not you, and it's not me" is saying how there was an external/outside force that caused them to split. In regard to Harry and Louis' relationship, that could have been the pressure from their management and having to hide their relationship. This makes the song somber, it's not your typical break-up song bashing the other person, but rather grieving over a loss of a relationship that ended from reasons beyond their control. "Tastes so sweet, looks so real/Sounds like something that I used to feel/But I can't touch what I see" is the next part of the song. The line "But I can't touch what I see" could be indicative of him feeling detached from Louis, and how he can't touch or publicly show his love for Louis because of management. When artists sign to a record company or management, contracts are always put into in place. It is rumored that once fans started catching on to Louis and Harry's relationship, their management made them sign a contract that would keep them from coming out or admitting to being in a relationship with each other. This has happened with other artists, such as Olly Alexander, who was also in a band and was told to keep hide his sexuality so it wouldn't harm the bands success. The line "But I can't touch what I see" is evident that whoever he was with, he could not show his love. This would not make sense for this relationship with Taylor swift, because a lot of their dates were fairly public, and they did not have to hide their relationship. The chorus, "We're not who we used to be/ We're not who we used to be/ We're just two ghosts standing in the place of you and me/ Trying to remember how it feels to have a heartbeat" is significant because it alludes to a relationship where they went through a lot of change; Harry and Taylor had a short relationship, lasting barely three months, whereas Harry and Louis met in 2010, and had possibly a several yearlong relationship, which would create more room for legitimate change to occur. "We're not who we used to be" relates more for Louis and Harry as they changed a lot during the past 10 years. They went from being super close, constantly being with each other, publicly living together, being super open, to not even being able to sit next to each other in interviews or interact on stage during concerts due to their management's increased fear of people finding more reasons Harry and Louis are in a relationship. Referring to himself and his ex as "two ghosts" can imply that who they were is in the past, and that part of them is dead. The love or relationship they had is no longer alive, which brings me to the next line, "Trying to remember how it feels to have a heartbeat" can imply how they lost themselves. They lost what it's like to love each other since they had to keep it a secret and they no longer can remember what it is like to be open and in love. This song was originally supposed to be put on One Direction's fifth album, Made in the A.M, however ultimately wasn't because Harry said, "some things are like more personal notes and you don't want anyone else to sing it", which could mean he didn't want to make Louis sing along to a song that was written about their past relationship.