Guys are confusing

So there's a guy that I've been off and on with for 2 years. It's funny because he would get mad and not talk to me for awhile but when he sees that I don't message him he eventually caves in and text me asking me if I'm okay or if I'm still upset. But for some reason he changed. He's putting in way more effort than he did before. Like he always tries to plan to hang out or like you can tell that he tries his best to hold the conversation instead of putting "k. Ok. Or yeah ". But the most interesting thing is that he told me on his own that he wouldn't disappear like how he would used to before. I'm iffy about this but like it feels nice that he opened up so much. I just always ask myself how would I know that he means what he say..