anyone else been in this situation?

so i’ve been seeing this guy for a while now. we’ve known each other forever so i know he has never been in a relationship but it’s almost like he doesn’t know how to treat me.

at first i thought he just didn’t care about me so i tried to break it off and i was honest with him about it then he just acted like he didn’t realize and told me he would do better. he is doing better but it just doesn’t feel right because i basically asked him to treat me a certain way.

he wasn’t treating me “badly” it just didn’t feel like we were serious.

i just don’t know if this is a red flag or to be patient and help him. but then again i am the first girl he’s ever been with.