AITA for continuing to hang out with and calling him my friend?

(All fake names in sakes of privacy)

In the beginning of this school year I, then 17F now 18F, became friends with Henry, then 17M now 18M, who goes to my school. We share one class together, but it's a class that we have 3-6 times a week so we see each other quite often.

Henry and I ended up becoming good friends; working on projects together and hanging out during breaks, often in company of my other friends. We also began hanging out after school, both with and without others around, doing various things such as film nights, road trips, walks, cinema trip and even more private family events.

My question then arises because of something one of my other (school) friends, Claire, 21F, have said; that I'm using him.

I can understand where she is coming from:
When Henry and I have hung out he has had a tendency of insisting to pay for me, even when I explicitly state that he really doesn't have to and that I don't want him to feel like he has to pay, because I too am very able to do so. He also insists to drive me around, even when it is a big detour, sometimes up to 30 minutes.

Now I am beginning to feel bad even accepting to hang out with him at all.
Rumours that we are dating have been going around our school for a while. People I don't know are referring to me as "Henry's girlfriend" and some people are asking if we've done "the deed" yet, which makes me a little uncomfortable at times, but both Henry and I shut the rumours down.

My friends and parents (who haven't even met the guy) are all convinced that Henry has a crush on me.
He has actually offered multiple times that we can try dating and see what happens, but I have expressed myself many times saying that I don't think I'm ready for a relationship and he has accepted that. Still our jokes, that our friendship started out with and that sometimes boarder on (playful/teasing) flirting, continue so it's a little hard to tell.

I have never had any romantic involvement with anyone before.
I've never had a crush.
I don't know what it would feel like.

As I understand it are Henry and I simply close friends who happen to be of opposite gender/sex.
But am I leading him on? WAITA for continuing our friendship as just as it is?