Are Justin Bieber and Miley Cyrus Dating?

Ah, the travails of being a celebrity. Your every move is scrutinized, your every appointment photographed and circulated, feeding the rumor mills, assuring avid (and rabid) fans that our entertainers keep us amused even when they are not performing. Justin Bieber and Miley Cyrus, for instance, have become subject to heated speculation whether the two are hot for each other. TMZ reported and showed pictures of the two hanging out at Beacher’s Madhouse in Roosevelt Hotel in L.A. on Sunday Morning. The two youths mingled for a quarter of an hour, “laughing and flirting,” and then left together at about 2 a.m. Where they left to and what they did is left to the oversexed imagination of the rest of the world.

But though the two have long been friends, Miley for her part has done her best to staunch rumors that anything was going on at all. “I’m ENGAGED! I’m engaged. That is impossible.” Well, technically not impossible, but we’ll leave that to you to decide. 20-year-old Miley claims she is not at all dating 19-year-old Bieber, and it appears that rumors that she and fiancé Liam are breaking up are, after all, false.

Attendant details on the fiasco, such as that Bieber’s leopard-printed Audi was noted to be at Miley’s place not too long ago, or that Miley visited Justin at the recording studio, fit neatly into the scenario of a friendship.