Bieber & Hailey Baldwin Love To Keep Us Guessing

Justin Bieber wears his heart on his Instagram. As anyone who follows the "Sorry" singer would know, Ol' JB frequently utilizes the photo-sharing app to post attention-grabbing photos of the ladies in his life (or ladies he wishes were in his life), sharing pics of Selena Gomez (throwback, of course), Insta models he finds attractive, and close friend and non-girlfriend Hailey Baldwin. In fact, Justin Bieber and Hailey Baldwin have been getting pretty flirty on Instagram lately, churning up the rumor mill with cozy pics and silly prank videos. Despite the fact that both parties have denied that they're in a relationship (instead insisting — via Instagram, of course — that they're just friends), the two certainly like to ham it up. Whether they #doitforthegram or do it for the attention, one thing's for sure: Justin Bieber and Hailey Baldwin love to keep fans guessing on the nature of their relationship.

Need proof? Look no further than Bieber's most recent Instagram posts, which show him and Baldwin looking seriously cozy on vacation together. While one pic shows JB with his arm wrapped around Baldwin's neck (it looks way more romantic in the picture, I swear), another is a video of the singer giving the model a "wet willy" (a phrase I even cringe to write). The vid is especially flirtatious, and it involves the two of them giggling to themselves as Baldwin grabs Bieber's hand:

Clearly, the two have a flirtatious friendship, and it's not hard to see why fans and the media would assume that a little somethin' somethin' was goin' on between the Biebs and Baldwin. Both Bieber and Baldwin — whose father is the actor Stephen Baldwin — are well aware of how social media works, and both have carefully curated Instagram accounts.

The two are undoubtedly in the driver's seat when it comes to what they share on social media, which means they know exactly what they're doing when they post pictures and videos like the one above. Sure, maybe they do it in part to show that they're friends and flaunt their badass vacations and rack up those likes and whatever else it is that young rich Hollywood starlets do on Instagram, but an unusually cynical me thinks it's also to keep speculation about their relationship on the forefront of people's minds.

Last year — in fact, almost a year ago to the day of this writing — Bieber took to Instagram to shoot down any rumors that he was romantically involved with Hailey Baldwin.

"People are crazy," Bieber captioned a sweet selfie of the two. "I'm super single and this is my good friend u would know otherwise." But is it really crazy to think that these two are a couple? I mean, how far-fetched is it to assume that the two are an item after they post giggly and flirty shots of themselves cuddling?

To be fair, fans and the media alike do tend to get a little ahead of themselves when it comes to celebs dating — let's not forget that it was assumed that Baldwin was dating 5SOS member Luke Hemmings just because the two were photographed at a restaurant together — but Bieber and Baldwin do their fair share of fanning the fire.

So despite the fact that both parties insist that they are nothing more than friends — "I've known him since I was so young — since I was like 13 — and we've just been good friends over the years ... we have just stayed close and there's nothing more to it than that," the model told E! News in December of last year — their Instagram accounts certainly seem to hint otherwise, if for no other reason than they just enjoy trolling the general public. And I mean, fair enough, I guess. If people are gonna talk, why not let it be in your control?