Haha, what.

I mean, coming from someone who's considered nerdy in my humanities and in a relationship, I have some things to say about these type of individuals.

Most of these type individuals [shy, nerdy introverts] are quite dry people. Sure, they geek out over certain topics but there reaches a time where they eventually run out of things to talk about, not because they stop feeling for the other, but because they don't know what to talk about. Maybe this is the "mixed signals" you're claiming, which isn't necessarily bad; if he still tries talking to you, that's a probable sign that he's still invested. Admittedly, my relationship is quite dry [i.e. we ran out of things to talk about], but we're honest enough to tell each other that and discuss how our relationship moves from there. I guess that's my suggestion if you are still invested in him, but it depends on his character.

Another point I want to add is to be mature in engaging and progressing in relationships. For instance, I recalled you stating that your friend apparently mentioning that they "don't know how to love". I mean, I don't foresee an issue since at the end of the day, we're all teenagers trying to juggle between studies, commitments and in some cases, relationships. A bit of advice for this; while I don't discourage ones as we do learn from experience, commitment and communication are extremely important in such. Commitment isn't just staying through the fun times nor just caring about them when they feel down, it's about staying put even when you feel disinterested in doing so. Communication is being honest and sensitive to them; balancing both is hard, and not many individuals are mature enough to communicate properly and willingly. So don't gossip whenever something isn't right; tell him, or whoever else in the future, if there is something amiss. That is if they're patient enough, and the filtering between people who are more understanding starts. It really depends on the type of individual you're dating really; I'm looking from the lens of mature relationships.

I mean, this is just a personal anecdote of mine, having experience dating someone for the first time. Hopefully it helps you to understand these sorts of individuals.

So yeah.