At the beginning of friendships/relationships, is it normal for one person taking the lead the whole time/doing all the pursuing?

He will usually reply if I text him…well, at least about 50% of the time. I know he at least reads the texts as he'll refer to them later. Since he doesn't respond to all the texts, I assume he's busy and usually wait a few days before trying again

. But, no matter what happens, he will not communicate with me in any way unless I contact him first.

Basically, I'm just wondering if this is normal and if I'm doing the right thing by giving him "space" if he isn't replying and trying again in a few days?

I'm just confused on what I should do. I don't want to "suffocate" him, but I also don't want to seem overly aloof.