18 year-old Heroes hottie and would-be dolphin saver Hayden Panetteire is probably no longer dating her older co-star, Milo Ventimiglia. Milo was said to have given Hayden a $1,950 gold ring for her birthday, and although the two claim to only be friends, who gives their opposite sex friends expensive jewelry like that?

Hayden has been spotted out on the town looking cosy with not one but two guys recently, Diana Ross’ son Evan and singer Ne-Yo. Maybe she’s just being flirty, or perhaps she’s trying to make Milo jealous, as neither seems to have moved into the realm of romance. Ne-Yo told People magazine he’s just friends with Hayden, and says they only met recently. He claims he was holding her hands to help her walk in her painful shoes, and he dismisses the romance rumors, saying they met doing charity work, that he barely knows her, and that she’s “silly”

“Hayden and I just met yesterday. We’ve only known each other for one day,” Ne-Yo told PEOPLE at the Ronald McDonald House Charity’s World Children’s Day event Tuesday, where Panettiere, 18, also made an appearance. “She was hanging out with some friends and invited me to come out.”

As for the hand holding, “I was helping her out of the car!” says the singer, 28. “She had these shoes – they were cute – but they were torture devices, so I had to help her.”

The duo only spent 48-hours together as they toured Ronald McDonald Houses in Dallas, Detroit, Philadelphia, and New York, but they definitely hit it off. “I’m a fan of Hayden’s show Heroes, so I was excited to know she was going to do this with me,” the singer continued. “Hayden is cool people. She’s a little silly. But silly is good.”

[From People.com]

R&B singer Ne-Yo said he would help Hayden on her first album, which is in progress, and that they’ve talked about a possible collaboration.

Meanwhile Hayden was quite friendly with Evan Ross at a recent party:

“Heroes” star Hayden, 18, spotted the hunky 20-year-old [Evan Ross] and headed straight for him at a party in Los Angeles on November 13, an eyewitness tells The Enquirer.

“The were sitting really close to each other and looked very flirty, whispering in each other’s ears and giggling,” said the eyewitness…

And while Hayden’s rep says she and Evan are just friends, the eyewitness adds: “You could tell they were really enjoying each other’s company…”

[From The National Enquirer, print edition, December 3, 2007]

Good for her. Hayden’s not heading off to hotel rooms or drinking herself into oblivion, she’s engaged in some harmless flirting at parties and while doing charity work. I used to find Hayden annoying and didn’t cover her for a long time. She was rumored to be personally calling the paps to tip them off as to her whereabouts, and she seemed to be desperate for attention last year, showing up at all the hot spots. She seems to have matured quite a bit this year.

Hayden was named “obsession of the year” by GW Magazine, and denies a relationship with her co-star Milo Ventimiglia in the accompanying interview. She says that there are rumors that she’s dating every man she hangs out with, and says that it’s fine with her if she’s rumored to be dating Hollywood elite, including women. Here are the photos from the issue, thanks to PopSugar. Thanks to Splash News for the header photo of Hayden and Ne-Yo.