Alexei should've been hurt by her words, and he doubted anyone would've blamed him if he was, but in fact, he wasn't. He had expected the coldness of the Clement female if the conversation derailed from what she wanted it to be. He was used to losing friendships over things like these; hearing the truth always made people defensive and cold.
He turned his back to the Hufflepuff witch and made his way to the door though he stopped as his fingers curled around the handle. "You know Elenore, this cold girl in front of me right now... This seemingly untouchable shell of a female... Is she the actual Elenore or is it the mask that you try and put up?" He mused out loud, not even turning to face the woman that he had hurt terribly.
"If you even try and think for a second that I wasn't your friend, then clearly, you are a fool. If I didn't think of you as a friend, I wouldn't have written to you nor would I have enjoyed those horse-riding lessons with you nor would I have joined the Quidditch team because you urged me to." He slowly pushed the door open, a sigh leaving his lips. "And trust me when I say this, the Clement name meant, and still means nothing to me. It certainly meant nothing to me when your brother was here, and trust me, he and I were no friends. To me, you are just Elenore. A fun-loving, beautiful yet fragile girl that I got to know and I'm proud to call her my friend. If that's not enough for you and you don't wish to accept my apology then that's alright. You may not think of me as a friend anymore but I will always treasure you in my heart, that I can promise you... Go back over our letters and tell me... Do you really think that we are not, and never have been, friends?"
He left it at that. Elenore wouldn't listen to reason, she would just turn deaf to his words.
Losing her friendship hurt.
It hurt terribly but at the end of the day, even those few scant months that he had her as a friend, he would never take them back. She would always be his friend, even from afar and even if she didn't want to acknowledge him as a friend anymore.